Jeff, who thought it was Riona, was surprised when he found out who it really was-Balta.
“Balta!” Jeff yelled. The sinister Tolarion leader’s smile could be seen through his transparent mask.
“Yes, Mr. Walker,” he answered. “It is I. You thought you had done away with me, heh? You’ll find that I’m not as easy to kill as you think I am.”
“There’s no way you could have survived,” Jeff said, as he searched for the acid burn on his hand. “Your whole base was destroyed.”
“I survived by the skin of my teeth, as you humans say, but I survived. You are very strong willed, Walker. It will be a shame to execute you. You could have had a place in my new empire.”
“Right next to Akros, I imagine.”
“Akros is a foolish man! He no longer has control over me or my race. I am their leader now, not some human being who is truly inferior to us.”
“That’s no way to talk about your creator,” Jeff jested.
“Touché`, Walker, touché,” Balta laughed. “How clever you are! It’s a pity you won’t live long enough to discover too much more about us. Right now, however, I’m letting you live only because of Akros and have adjusted the air in here for more delicate life forms such as yourselves. Take them in the back!”
The guards obeyed his orders and grabbed the small crew, shoving them in the brig. When they started to push Jeff in, Balta stopped them. “Wait,” he said. The two guards turned toward their leader, as he pulled a knife from his belt, and put it against his throat. “I need to repay you for your insolence! You’re lucky to be alive. If it wasn’t for Akros, you wouldn’t be. Nonetheless, I’ll give you a reminder of my fury, just like you gave me!” Balta slashed his face quick, just under his eye, as he struggled to escape. Blood dripped down his neck and
onto the floor, and the stinging pain was unbearable.
Balta laughed wildly, and waved for the guards to place him in the brig. Dormiton quickly ripped a section of Jeff’s pants and placed it against the wound to stop it from bleeding. The group was astonished by his wicked act of cruelty towards their friend.
They left the allegedly empty Varcon in space, and the Tolarions tried to pilot it, but were unable to do so. Balta wanted to take it for research, but because they couldn’t pilot it or tow it, they decided they’d have to abandon it. As Alokia came into view the next day, Balta turned towards his crew.
“Prepare to land,” he ordered. “Alokia base, this is Balta, can you read me?”
“Yes, Sir,” a voice announced. “You are clear to land at sector 291.”
“Roger,” Balta said. “Landing at sector 291.”
The tyrant smiled at the brown barren world, knowing that victory would soon be in his grasp. The Republic wouldn’t dare defy him now; not if they wanted to see their delegates alive again. The ship gradually floated into the atmosphere, its retro rockets slowing the ship down considerably. The surface of the planet was covered with a raging dust storm, which gave them great difficulty in landing. It was apparent, however, that the Tolarions were well accustomed to these conditions. The wings of the large Tolarion craft bobbed from the winds of sixty miles an hour upon entering the landing strip area.
Jeff covered his face with the cloth that Dormiton gave him to avoid the flying dust particles, and ripped off more pieces of his pant leg and gave it to the others to cover their faces as well. The air was breathable, but very dirty for humans, and the others weren’t used to the weather conditions either. Their landing was rather rough, and several rocks flew toward them, one even bouncing off the nose of the ship. When the Tolarion vessel finally landed, Balta made his way back to the brig. As he opened the door, he grabbed Jeff by the hair and threw him against the wall. The human landed with his back to it, and collapsed on the floor.
“Let’s see how you can escape one of our worlds,” he laughed, as he grabbed his right arm and pulled him to his feet. “You’re lucky if you survive a day or two in one of these storms! Move the rest of them to the workstations, President Zarcon and Walker will come with me!”
It seemed to Jeff they only wanted to execute the two of them, and keep the others as slaves on Alokia.
Six of the guards directed the reptilian and amphibians outside to a section of the complex that lay directly in front of them, as Zarcon and Jeff were taken in another direction with Balta and four guards following behind them. They edged their way to the entrance while the bitter winds and abrasive sands beat against them. Jeff was used to the wind and sand, but not the scorching heat. On Mars, there were frequent sandstorms, but he was protected by the insulation of a spacesuit, and temperatures were much cooler.
The two renegades were pushed into the entrance, and the doors slid open. Jeff felt completely helpless, as five laser guns were pointed at them, in case they might try to escape. The inside hall was large and long, and traveled in all directions. They were pushed into a hallway on the right, which led to a room where most of the cargo was kept. Jeff guessed that this was their cargo holding area, mainly due to the tanks and metal crates that were scattered around the area. Jeff thought about ripping the mask off that protected Balta’s face, but he knew he was just be shot if he did so. They were led through an area to an elevator which was on the far side. They entered it, and Balta announced their destination.
“Main Control,” he said, and the machine responded. When it reached the third floor, the doors opened, and revealed another corridor. They walked to the end of it and the doors opened.
There was a large table, where a blue cloaked figure had his back to them. He turned around to greet them.
“Riona!”
“Yes, Zarcon,” he laughed. “It’s me. You didn’t think we gave up looking for you?” Jeff turned towards Balta.
“I knew this was a setup,” he surmised. “You and Riona were planning Zarcon’s execution all along. What did you promise him, Balta, your precious Triachilite?”
“Well, Mr. Walker, I'm impressed. You have done your homework,” Riona laughed. “On the contrary, Mr. Walker. I promised him something much better-total rule of the galaxy. Sort of a joint venture, you might say. And with the Belorion death ray, no one will stop us!”
“It’s not yours to rule,” Zarcon asked. “And what about Akros?”
“What about him?” Riona snarled. “Once we get back to Tolaria, he’s a dead man!”
“Where is the death ray?” the insect questioned.
“Do you think we’d be fools enough to reveal that information?”
Riona asked. “Balta, can’t we dispose of these destitutes?”
“Not yet, Friend,” the ape-like creature said. “If Akros wants them alive, we’ll give them to him alive. And then we’ll kill all three of them, including Akros.”
“You would do that to your own father?” Jeff jested.
“Power has no relatives,” Balta coldly sneered.
Jeff tried to grab him, but was held back by the guards. “What about our friends?” he asked.
“We have no desire to kill them,” Balta explained. “They will remain here as prisoners of the empire, digging the mines for precious metals.”
“You are a sadistic son of a bitch, aren’t you?” Jeff snarled.
“And you are becoming tiresome, Mr. Walker,” Balta hissed. “Put them on board the Starlighter. We’ll depart from Alokia in one hour.”
The guards grabbed the two prisoners, and pushed them towards the elevator doors. Jeff struggled to get away, but a guard pushed him against a wall. When the elevator doors shut and they left, Balta turned towards his faithful friend.
“How did he know about the Triachilite?”
“Zarcon must have told him,” Riona answered.
“What else does he know?”
“Nothing other than what the Republic has told him.”
“Good. Let’s not make any more mistakes. I want them both terminated when we get back to Tolaria.”
“It will be my pleasure. What about h
is friends? Are they really going to the
workstations?”
“Of course not. They are being eliminated as we speak.”
On the other side of the complex, Barva and his two Ventrosion friends were being led down a corridor, which was considerably below the planet’s surface.
They were brought to a dark tunnel and shoved inside. There was a wall at one end, and a solid iron door at the other.
“End of the line,” one of the Tolarions said as he slammed the door. Dormiton ran to it, and slammed his fist against it.
“Now what?” Milgic asked.
“We wait,” Barva said.
“For what?” Dormiton asked.
“Until they decide what to do with us,” Barva answered. “I sense that Zarcon and Jeff will be on their way to Tolaria soon. Security will
lighten up a little after they’ve left, and then maybe we’ll stand a chance at getting out of here. They’ve probably already started sending troops to intercept the Tolarion fleet. The war has already begun.”
They sat in the darkness, and heard a hissing sound that grew louder. “Gas,” Barva yelled, as they began to choke, smoke entering through vents in the chamber. Dormiton fell to the floor, unconscious. Barva also was queasy, as they heard a laser blast at the door. The door was kicked open, as they fell
to the floor. Three humans who wore gas masks helped them to their feet and out of the chamber, passing dead guards that were outside of the chamber. They were directed down a hallway and into an open room, which led to a panel in the wall, which they pushed. The three of them were led to a stairway. At the bottom of the stairway there was a narrow passageway that led to another wall. One of the guards reached his hand in a hole in the wall, and it opened into a doorway. They found themselves surrounded by a group of human beings, which were a resistance group. They carried lasers and also early twenty first century rifles.
A six feet two curly blonde haired man used a damp cloth to revive them to full awareness. He had a rather muscular build, and was in his early fifties.
“Who are you?” Barva asked, as the humans looked at one another, intrigued by these English speaking reptile creatures.
“I’m John Carver,” he said. “We are from an installation on a planet called Mars. We were brought here by some creatures called Tolarions, just as you were.”
“Did you say Mars?” Dormiton asked.
“Yes,” Carver said. “Have you heard of us?”
“Yes,” Barva said. “We have a friend from there.”
“What’s his name?” asked Carver.
“Jeff,” Milgic said. “Jeff Walker.”
“Walker?” a girl’s voice shouted, as she emerged from the crowd. She had curly blonde hair and blue eyes, and was very slender, and seemed very eager when she heard the name. The two lingworts looked at each other in amazement when they knew this was the woman Jeff spoke about on many occasions on the island.
“Is your name Lori Anderson?” Dormtion asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Have you seen Jeff? Is he all right?”
“I’m afraid not,” Barva sighed. “Balta’s got him.”
“Are they here, in the complex?” Carver asked.
“I don’t know,” the reptile said. “My thought transmissions are
weak down here. They had orders to take him to Tolaria to be executed.”
“Executed?” Lori screeched. “We have to do something!”
“If my calculations are right,” Barva said. “My fleet should be arriving here soon to attack this base.”
“If that’s true,” Carver said. “We better get out of here! Our installation down here isn’t designed for an attack of such
proportions. We’ll have to save your friend before Balta gets away.”
“Have you ever heard of the Galactic Republic of Peaceful Civilizations, John Carver?” Barva asked.
“Yes,” he said. “The Tolarions have spoken of them on several occasions and they have some of their people here as prisoners as well.”
“Well,” Barva continued. “They are under orders to attack Tolaria once Jeff is brought there. He has a mission to destroy the base. If you can help us with his mission, we’d be forever in your debt.”
“Consider it done,” another hefty human with grey hair said. “I’m Steve Malone. They have harmed enough of our people as well.”
“Our main concern now is getting out of here and to the main hangar decks,” Carver stated.
“What about Jeff?” the agitated Lori asked. Carver grabbed her by the shoulders, and looked deep into her blue eyes and consoled her.
“He knows what he is doing,” he told her. “If they say he has to be captured, then he has to be captured. Is there a chance we can save him before he is executed?”
“Barva,” the reptile said. “My name is Barva. I am second in command of the Talokians. These are my friends Dormtion and Milgic, from the planet Ventros. I don’t know, but I do know the location of where he is going.”
“It might not be an easy task,” Lori said. “They appear to be heavily armed.”
“We devised a plan to send these two through the air ducts. If we can get to the main control center, we can self destruct the base. During the confusion, we’ll have to find Jeff.”
“We’ll have to find out where they’re keeping him first,” added Carver. “Can you contact the Republic?”
“After we get out of here, we should be able to,” Barva stated.
“Let’s get started!” Carver yelled, and handed a laser to each of
them. “Once we reach the hangar decks, protect the ships. They’re our only way off this god-forsaken planet.”
They ran through the corridor, and could hear weapon blasts that penetrated the outside walls of the base. They ran up the stairs and into the complex, as the base began to fall around them. They were attacked by several Tolarions while they ran down another corridor. The hallways flashed with great light intensity as lasers blasted in all directions. Even the lingworts finally got involved, and fired their lasers at the enemy. When they finally reached the hangar deck, they could see Balta and Riona exiting the elevator. Carver tried to shoot at them but missed Riona just laughed, and they both vanished into the craft, and it started to lift off.
They fired at the Starlighter when it left the hangar deck, but the ceiling began to give way and they needed to get to the other spaceships quick. The catwalks fell to the floor below, destroying machinery and Tolarions as well.
The army of approximately two hundred humans converged on their enemy, and fired their lasers as they headed towards the spaceships. Carver and Lori fired at three Tolarions who tried to escape, and ran to the nearest ship, opening the hatch. Barva, Dormiton, and Milgic ran behind them, and jumped inside in haste. A Tolarion grabbed Dormiton’s leg and yanked it, and tried to pull him from the platform outside the ship. He kicked him in the face, regretfully, and his attacker fell to the floor.
He jumped in the ship, and shut the hatch behind him. The other humans followed suit, and grabbed whatever ships they could. Most escaped, but several people were killed in the process, as the base began to collapse around them. John pressed the communication panel and spoke into it.
“I want all ships to rendezvous with the Talokians. Stand by for further orders. Barva, can you speak with your fleet?”
“Certainly,” he said, and walked over to the panel. “Talokian fleet, this is Barva. Centar, do you read me?”
“Centar here,” a voice answered. “We read you loud and clear.”
“Break off attack until we can reach you,” Barva ordered. “We will be in Tolarion ships, all except one- the Starlighter. It should be approaching you now. Track him, but don’t attack."
“Affirmative,” Centar said. “Out.”
“The Republic is fully aware of your plans?” Carver asked.
“Yes,” Barva answered. “We have met with the council. They
informed us they will not attack un
til Jeff reaches Tolaria.”
“Then all we have to do now is follow them,” Carver said. “And wait until the order to attack.”
Their new Tolarion vessels climbed through the atmosphere until the base was no longer in sight, and the Talokians destroyed the rest of what was left there. The attack had been so sudden the Tolarions didn’t expect it, and were unprepared for it. Balta and Riona escaped again and were on their way to Tolaria thinking they had leverage by having prisoners, but had no idea that their whole arrangement with Akros was setting them up for the kill.
When Carver and the others rendezvoused with the Talokians, they boarded the Varcon. It was decided that Carver, Lori, Barva and the two lingworts would pilot it, with both forces following close behind. Balta’s ship was completely out of distance at the moment, but they were still locked onto to it, and tracked every movement. The ship could easily overpower its speed, but there wasn’t a reason to. They knew exactly where the Starlighter was headed, and didn’t want to be detected.
The Republic forces were in position for an attack on Tolaria. Even if the Tolarions were successful in their attack on Sentros, there wouldn’t be a home for either of them to return to. If they by some chance constructed another base somewhere else, the Republic was determined not to let this happen again.
It was decided the stolen Tolarion ships would proceed first and catch their forces off guard, then Barva’s fleet, and then the Republic’s fleet. John Carver was well acquainted with the Tolarions’ spaceships and machinery. After all, he spent the last past two years on Alokia, building up a resistance group against them and was quite successful in his efforts. They managed to release many of their prisoners, and their plans were to take over the base; that is until the Talokians arrived. The job was meant for the group, and they saw it was only right to return the favor to Barva’s people for freeing them from Alokia. Between the two factions, there was a very prominent invasion force of about fifty ships, with the Varcon leading the way. Barva placed the ship on auto pilot and turned to his friends.
Dimension Lapse (Dimension Lapse Series Book 1) Page 16